


Worth the Gamble?

by APHBrussels



Category: Cuphead (Video Game)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, M/M, Post-Canon, character backstory
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-23
Updated: 2021-02-12
Packaged: 2021-03-09 18:09:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,387
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27690506
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/APHBrussels/pseuds/APHBrussels
Summary: Post canon:Dice thinks about the encounter with the cups more than he should a year later, the unfluence on his boss but also the feeling that the litteral devil might not be the worst out there?
Relationships: The Devil/King Dice (Cuphead)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 18





	1. Bitter thoughts

**Author's Note:**

> My very first try at a Cuphead fic and my first attempt in writing in like ages ^^ Readers be warned that cringe can be had here.
> 
> But please enjoy this small little prologue.

“Good-for-Nothing Lackey...”

The words that still ring through my head, how long has it been since those damned cups defeated him. It must have been well over a year at this point but the salty taste of those words remained with me to this very day.

A long sigh that left my lips as the smoke of the cigar slowly lifted before completely vanishing. Vanishing like the contracts being thrown into hellfire. The aftermath of that wasn't pretty, unlike for the people that were indeed freed, the contracts of the staff, including myself had been kept safe. And hadn't been burned as a result of that.

Which was lucky for him of course. Heaven knows what would have happened to the damned place if their contracts had been turned to crisps as well by the flames, hotter than anything they had experiences so far.

It was very wishful thinking really, that they could have been freed. And honestly I would have totally been okay if the gang had been freed from the torment that is working for Him. That they could move on to another place, another life.

As their manager for many many years now I feel like for what they had been through and witness that they definitely deserve their freedom back but alas.

“Good-For-Nothing... You really are useless aren't you y-”

My drink that wasn't supposed to be a shot, swung back in one go. Interrupting that train of thought was the best thing to do right now. Wasn't dealing with this on top of the bitter feeling that didn't belong to the alcohol but to the words that were left in my mind.

Not his words for once but an evil that felt even bigger. Which of course was absurd, there couldn't be an evil greater than the devil himself but to me... There sure is. Compared to them, to the evil I have...seen and witness from the Devil.

It didn't compare, it is why I would have cared less if my contract had been burned amongst them or not. Not that that would ever happen, since my contract might as well be the most secure thing in this place.

“For a good-for-nothing lackey my soul seems to be pretty valuable…”

Nothing above a faint whisper really, wheezy didn't seem to pick up on it while he was helping behind the bar so it wasn't that loud, at least I assumed as it hadn't drawn any attention around me.  
I nodded as the tipsy troop ensured that I didn't go dry. I wouldn't mind if they had heard, unlikely with how drunk they usually are. If they by some miracle had picked up on it, there was little to no chance that they would even remember.

I was left staring at the glass with that thought again, I did everything to stop them. I threw the entire casinos staff and all of my magic, the abilities that I had worked so long to master to stop them.

But in the end, I couldn't.

To be fair, neither could he but that is a point that he seems to want to gloss over more than the fact that I in fact warned him about those two. Alas, my words had been in vain. Like so many times the reason I would bring didn't match with his ego at all. Which is a him problem, I know but in the back of my mind there was that feeling that I was indeed responsible for this.

Guess that is the… downside of being raised by an evil bigger than the devil himself. Not that I would say that in boss' face, dear lord no, I don't wish to die that badly. It is sad that the Devil's words these days leave more of an aftertaste than the old man's actions.

Might be for the better, same with the fact that me being tied to me contract keeps me here. Away from that monster, who I assume would burn in the deepest pits off hell if the bastard one day decides to fall dead.

Haven't had any luck so far really. For how old the bastard is, he still is in pretty decent shape, so he wouldn't be going anywhere anytime soon. As always I seem to be very much out of luck, not something I am not used to, really.

“Dice!” I would recognize that voice and the following growl anywhere.

This meant bad news.


	2. King of Hearts

I didn't really move at first, I pretended like I hadn't heard him growl at me. I am a good actor, maybe I can play off that I don't want this conversation right now as just not having heard him the first time he yelled.

My fingers traced along the rim of the glass, trying to drown out any sound that wasn't in my head. Today was already enough like this, I don't need an extra reason to completely destroy my liver with the amount of alcohol consumed.

The troupe gave me a concerned look, rare for them but knowing that I am ignoring the big boss might set off red flags, even for the most drunk staff of this casino.

I emptied my glass before turning around, knowing I can't ignore him forever and I rather do not have him trash this place while having a hissyfit. Which happened more than I would like, if it wasn't the patron then it was certainly the devil that made a mess of this place.

The click that was made by the heel of my shoe seemed to attract Mangosteen's attention as his attempts to keep the boss from making too much of a mess had stopped completely. I pretended not to see the concerned look on his face. As much as I would appreciate Mango looking out for me, it wasn't a situation I would get out of without at least a bruise or two.

My shoes clicked against the floor of the casino, an intentional design choice really. After becoming manager I had changed to these so that when someone makes a mess or decides that going against the casino rules would be fun, could hear me coming from across the room. Which in this case wasn't really what I was going for, since I would have rather come unnoticed.

“You called me, boss?” As politely as my tipsy brain can manage I spoke up a little away from him, Mango and Chips. Since even with the strength bigger than most demons Mangosteen can not keep a pissed off Devil back by himself.

I just hoped the generous amount of alcohol didn't have an influence on my ability to fake a smile, keeping the mask up that I have had for the decades I have been in this place. Nobody knew of course, maybe the devil.

“Dice, my office! Now!” Was the only thing he growled before disappearing in a poof of smoke, completely vanishing from Mangosteen's grasp and the rope that Chips had put around him to help restrain him.

“Mr. Dice...” Chips' empathy in any other situation would have warmed my cold heart a bit but in this it just felt like a reminder of what was soon to follow. “If he is this upset about that...”

I cut him off before he could finish that. “He could never accept that he was wrong, that he had been warned about it. Taking it out on me is easier, since to him, I failed to stop those two.”

I felt a hand on my shoulder, a very broad hand which I knew without having to look that it was Mango. “You did everything you could, we all did. You made sure we could continue when they failed to get past one of us, past you.”

I look at him, eyes a faint green. “Well as the manager, I had to do everything to keep them at bay, it is very much my job.” I hoped the two would drop it after those words, but the look they gave me very much proved that they weren't done yet.

“You would be correct about that, if you didn't go out of your way to revive everyone that had been knocked out every time they lost.” I mentally cursed as the point was brought up either way. I would rather not have had a talk about this but it seemed like the staff was not letting it go.

Why are they like this all of a sudden? It has been a year now, why does it matter so much NOW. It hadn't been a problem before, it never seemed a problem that he was like this. Why now? I just wanted to delete myself from this conversation but I know my staff. 

They aren't the people that let go of topics that easily

They have very good staff, trained very well to pry information out of people, to not take "No" as an answer and keep prying. I might have very much made a mistake with teaching my own tricks for the sake of them being able to snatch me information for more contracts.

Well hindsight is 2020 I guess. There is nothing I can do now that will do anything to change the situation I had found myself in before what would be literal hell when facing the devil.

I shrugged and placed my hands behind my back. Trying to play things as normal as possible. “My job was to keep them from getting further in the casino, so they could get to the boss. I was told to do anything necessary to keep them from getting further.”

I paused briefly before looking at a very skeptical Phear, of course he is skeptical about this. He has worked in this place longer than I have. “And my idea what using you guys for as long as I could to save my own skin. The longer they didn't have to attack my face the better.”

All I can do is hope that the 'corrupt' and heartless manager act would just continue to do its work like it always had. There was no need to try to change things now, things had always worked the way they have been, and they would continue to do so.

But I can see the doubts in their eyes, they didn't believe that I did that to keep myself from getting harmed in that battle, which wasn't completely false but I digress.

“Mr. Dice, Sir.” Phear looked at me like he was trying to look into my soul. “We know that that isn't true.” Would it be too late to teach a dead horse new tricks?

My shoes clicked against the flooring as I fried me from Mango, walked past Phear and Chips Bettigan to turn around not far from where Pip and Dot were following the conversation behind the pool table.

The two looked up at me from their hiding spot. Dot the darling that she is wanted to say something but was silenced by Pip before she could get any further than opening her mouth. I silently thanked him for reading the mood in the room and cutting her off.

“It appears that I can't change your mind, well I digress. I would love to continue this little conversation.” I said, making my eyes go from black to green. “I have an appointment I am already late for.”

The faint shatter from the others stopped when my voice echoed through the place. The casino left in an unnatural silence.

Maybe it was for the better that there wasn't any sound as I walked out of the bar area, the sounds of my shoes becoming fainter and fainter to the staff. My staff that was well aware of what would be happening soon enough.

Walking down the long, long hallway that soon became hotter and hotter as the office was closer. I breathe in slowly as I try not to slow down on my way to Him.

Soon my hand find themselves against the oak of the door that separate myself between his office and me. I didn't bother knocking as I went inside. As I expected the place was empty, I knew he wasn't here. Of course, he wouldn't be in a place so accessible.

Not in a place the others could reach with ease. I walked past his desk and throne to the fireplace and traced my fingers against the coal-black stone. As I reached into my jacket and removed a brooch from my vest.

'Snake eyes.' Was all he said when he gave it to me as part of my promotion as a manager. Around the emerald stone there were two snakes made of gold that held two dice, both showing a '1' in their mouth. It was this that gave me the powers that made me able to do the contracts with morons.

I placed the brooch on the fireplace and heard a too familiar click before I removed. Once the click was heard the fireplace started to lit up, slowly at first before it turned into literal hellfire.

Once the flames were all consuming and the heat became too hot to keep standing there, I went in.

“Well, well took you long enough.” His voice echoes through the darkened room, the only thing that was in the light....

Was a King of Hearts


	3. The Bet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I swear I can write dialogue y'all but this chapter was very much meant to explain some of how the contract works, Dice's contract,...

I couldn’t help it. A sigh escaped my lips as I saw what exactly was the only light source in the room that was usually so lit up by many fires. That it was so dark was intentional, he was trying to get me to me to feel intimidated. Which I wasn’t, I was used to these kinds of tricks of him. Pretty sure that he knew that as well but wanted to rub something in at the same time. What he wanted to rub in yet unknown.

That playing card, every time I see that damn thing I wonder if the decision I made that day was a good one. If that was really worth what I was throwing in as a bet. The piece of carboard being a reminder of my past. 

The air escaping my lips felt warmer than it usually would. He had intentionally made this place as cold as being in hell would allow him. Not ice cold but enough to get my breath to light up underneath the glow of my eyes.

It was scary the first time, the fact that my eyes didn’t stop doing that. But I had gotten used to it over the years that I went back and forth between earth and hell. My eyes glowing like they did was and pretty much still is to make sure that my mortal body wouldn’t die by crossing those plains or that the way hell is set up would burn me alive.  
Would be too quick of a death really. He wouldn’t enjoy it too much, not enough suffering involved. Even if my life was a continued chain of these kind of events, he would not let me go out the easy way. I would die the way that I had lived, in misery and despair.

So here we stand in the darkness of the room with only a King of hearts that was lighting up green in the dark room.

My soul, he was holding the card that got infused with my soul. The reason it lit up was because my eyes did. It could sense that I was using magic so to show the Devil it lit up. Was he bluffing that he could do what he wanted because he held my soul in his hand?

Like he wasn’t deciding my fate already, like that wasn’t how things have been for years. I didn’t see what this had to prove as I walked over to the desk. Not speaking up before I was standing on the other side of his desk.

Even though It was dark, I knew where to move. It wasn’t like with how much I come down here that I wouldn’t have memorized the layout of this place. He also has very much shown me every corner of his office multiple times.

“The staff had a problem with something and as the manager I was ensuring that they could continue their work while we had our meeting. We wouldn’t want the casino to be in chaos in the meantime.” My voice pretty much lacked emotions when it came to explaining why I wasn’t there with the snap of a finger. Which in all fairness I could to a certain extent but I neither felt the need to be there that fast and the explanation that I had given regarding why I was late wasn’t a lie either.  
The beast of the underworld groaned at the response, since he couldn’t catch me with a lie and even if that was the case, he wouldn’t want tot risk the fact that if he said it wasn’t true that his casino would be in a war like state with the big demons that decided to visit tonight. He leaned back in his chair while playing with the card.

“Aren’t you a lucky King?” I barely could see his face and features. Yet I didn’t nee to see them to know that he was smirking. “Suicide King. Pulled himself in his own grave by stabbing himself in the head.”  
Of course, he was being like this, just trying to be like he was going to get me to be anxious of anything by just waving the card in my face and telling the symbolism of the card. It wasn’t like I used it for a reason. The reason that I threw a King of Hearts at his face back then wasn’t just because it was the nearest card in the deck that I could throw at him.  
The card pretty much paints me as I have been my entire life, making choices that people would deem like I was trying to get myself killed. Like if I really wanted to die that badly that I was willing to put myself at risk as often as I did.

Truth is, that after I ran away, I didn’t really have anything to lose, the only thing that would be able to happen is that I could move up in this world. So, no matter what the situation was, no matter how much I knew it could put me in danger. I still went for it, I had nothing to lose. It was either not trying the opportunity and be stuck in the same place or die and not have to try to fix something that wasn’t meant to be fixed anyway.

That day, when I was shot outside of the casino because some of the costumers decided that they didn’t agree with how I did my job is a permanent stain in my memory. I don’t know if I made the correct decision that day. I have gone many times thinking I would regret it and sometimes I do. Yet other times I do think that signing my soul away to stay alive was a good idea.  
As one of the few workers that didn’t sell their soul to end up in the casino, I didn’t really end up losing much. My freedom was the only thing but I didn’t have that before so at the time even though I half bled to death, it wasn’t that hard of a choice to make.

I didn’t lose anything; I just kept my regular old job as a dealer with the only perc that the devil would be able to look over my shoulder the entire time and that he would be the being to decide when and how I was eventually as a mortal going to meet my end.  
My contract didn’t make me immortal, it did for no one. People that ended up working for the devil had their lives stretched out and their ageing turned way down. It is how Wheezy and Chips don’t look like they have aged despite both being born in the early 1800’s.

We all know that at some point once the devil is tired of us, he will just claim our souls and it will be over for us. It is like not telling a person with a death sentences when they will be killed. They will live every day wondering which one will be their last. Slightly cruel but nothing really compared to what we have endured before and after signing up for this.  
We call it part of the job. We are just puppets in his circus and once we are used up, we will just be thrown in the trash, back to where most of us have started their lives. Ending the circle of life how it began.

We have very much accepted that there is no happy end for us, that there very much never has been. The devil’s casino very much is a place you end up when you really have nothing else to live for, well at least as a staff member. Not that it doesn’t apply to most of our customers either but I digress when it comes down to that.  
My green eyes met his when he decided to break the silence. “Do you know why I called you down here, Suicide King?” He asked that question knowing completely that he just called me here for lame things as just making his coffee, for no reason at all or just to show me even corner of the room.

He tries to play mind games with the only person that can come down here without him having to give permission. I could come here when I want, not that I do. I avoid being in hell as much as I can. Don’t really have anything to do down there in the first place.  
I wasn’t going to answer his question for him, why would I? The range of what could be the correct answer was so big that the chance that I would be remotely close would be as big as me finding a happy end in life.

And by that, I mean virtually impossible. So why bother giving him the satisfaction and the laughs at my answer. I would rather get something out of him for just keeping my mouth closed and him jus telling me what he wanted.

I had already placed my bets; it was now waiting to see if he was going to follow with what he was going to bring to the table. The cards are dealt, the bet is place. Now it is just a mere game between us and see who lady luck favored today.

Life is a gamble would be a shame to not spice it up just a little bit.


	4. Dealing the cards

“Well, I have no idea boss, feel free to enlighten me.” I responded after leaving the room in a chilly silence longer than probably would have been smart for anyone. I have some luck as the ‘Suicide King.’

Wouldn’t have made it to the age that I was shot if I didn’t. And I wasn’t planning to stop using it if it was in my advantage, why stop using something that worked so far. Besides in a place like this there is a thing so as luck that can make or break you.

It was mostly that I had grown bored of waiting like this and just wanted to continue drinking at the bar till I either passed out or just feel like going to bed. The latter didn’t really seem like a possibility to me, but I wasn’t against just laying in my bed staring at the ceiling waiting till sleep would overtake me compared to be staring at the smirk given by the man before me.

“Well, you know remember that I informed you about the princes of Hell being bored out of their mind and them wanting a way to relax right? Well, they were able to actually come to an agreement.” I was surprised, demons that are as stubborn as the Devil right in front of me.

The fact that they were able to agree on something together is beyond me, maybe a sign that the worlds were about to collapse and that everything will soon be put out of existence. Not an idea I am fully against really.

So, the princes of hell were able to agree on something that they could do, which he had pitched to me before. I was the one saying that a party at the casino could be an option. I was indeed made aware of that. Not that I ever thought that they would even go in on the offer that I, a mortal had made for them.

Despite being their ‘boss’ second in command, I don’t really have a relationship with the others down below. Often, I simply get ignored when we are down there for whatever boring meeting that they had set up to discuss the workings of the underworld.

I am there as the Devil’s voice of reason and to be his secretary. If it wasn’t for me during those meetings god knows how many dumb decisions he would have made, or problems be left unfixed that would have massive implications for the underworld. Maybe to some degree the Devil understands this.  
Doesn’t mean that the other princes do, I am just as slave to them. If they tell me something and I don’t do it in the snap of a finger they usually lash out. I have grown used to the insult and the threats being made to me.

So, I am aware that if I were to die at some point, which if the Devil doesn’t do anything to prolong my live I eventually will, the nice and pleasant things they have there waiting for me. I guess I can only be flattered by the fact that they are annoyed by me that much that they have gone out of their way to set things up for someone who is going to die god knows when.  
I am his torture puppet; I don’t think he is going to let me go in at least another century or even more. The bright side of this is that I can watch the world evolve and depending on how those creatures keep going with their life, destroy it.

For I have an interest to see it happen. The human world will collapse by the way they are living one day. They might have very much escaped one less fun experience around when I was born but it wouldn’t surprise me if history is going to repeat itself.

It does very much look that way; people have stopped caring about the world around them. It has become a battlefield for the rich and ego centrical to make the most out of it and thrive. The gap between the poor and the rich growing ever bigger without most people batting an eye to it. But not only that but also just the major lack in improvements for big companies and their employees.  
We work often with big places that want to have fun for a night or two. They end up renting the place, idea I had given the boss, before they go all out and blow sometimes insane amount of cash. Yet often forcing their less well-off employees to be there as slaves in the hope that they would either get positive rap or some literally needed the money that was offered to them to do anything they wanted of them.

Some were even forced to gamble with the big shots, to them it was funny that someone who barely got by had to bet and hope to not lose all their money or almost literally must sell their souls. The amount of people that I have seen going in to dept just to please them, hoping that they wouldn’t lose a job that they very very much needed.  
It reminded of how I had gotten to the casino in the first place. I had worked in companies like those before finding the casino. Not only are the people that run those corrupt as all hell but also very much put everyone under them against each other.

As if they got off to the idea of their employees killing each other off just to be able to someday maybe get a promotion that would one day get them to a less miserable job with a less miserable life. It’s false hope, those jobs are designed to put everyone against each other and give them a sense that there is more but there never will be.

They are forever bound to contracts that often underpays them severely, often also saying that every injury that will be acquired at the job were not their responsibility. They will always have an excuse to not pay them. A lot of people just go in debt trying to pay their hospital bills on top of anything else.  
Leaving them even more dependent on the job that had gotten themselves in that situation. I was in a job like that for about two years. I had the luck to have not signed a contract that would make me a slave to them forever. Two years was a lot of ass time and I have seen things that made me believe that hell also exist on earth.  
In my early twenties, after having been able to quit my job, I had ended up in the casino. First as a customer. I spend the least that I could not look like I had a different motive than just gamble. Which was only half a lie.

There were two options, I had to plans in mind. One was getting rich of the fact that I used to earn money by doing tricks with card and basically be a conman, trying to fool them into putting amounts on the table that would make it, so I never had to return to my old job.

A job my boss said I would come begging back for, funny how tables have turned, and I have been able to spit in his face in the meantime. Speaking of death, the second option was that I would piss someone off as severely that I would end as dead meat.  
One thing was sure in my mind, I wasn’t going back. I was going to win big or die, no other options were accepted. So, for the most part the first option of my plan seemed to be going smoothly. Not the big money but enough to get by.

But people didn’t seem too happy by the fact that those games almost seemed like a preplanned tactic. As if I knew when to win and when to lose in games so I didn’t get to butthurt and go broke.  
How had I ended up as a staff member? Someone got pissed at me and was threating to kill me. Thinking I would just end up dead, adding part tow to my plan. I just acted my cocky self. Never thought that Wheezy and Chips would shoo them away.

I had Phear drag my ass away from the table. Apparently the staff had picked up on the fact that my skills weren’t just luck anymore. They introduced me to the devil later, the way I ended up in the casino even without selling my soul initially.

“So they did in the end agree with my idea I assume from the way you are addressing this to me.” My assumptions were confirmed with the smirk that was on his face. I couldn’t complain, at least they agreed to my idea. Small victories.

Boss shoved some papers in front of me and I raised an eyebrow. He gestured me to read them. “People you will be working with. Underlings to the Princes. So you can prepare.”  
Everything seemed normal, the biggest assholes of their realms. I didn’t expect anything else really till my heart sunk.

This had to be a joke… This couldn’t be real…


End file.
